Steering propeller and rudder mount for boats



March 20, 1951 A. c. TROESTER 2,545,502

STEERING PROPELLER AND RUDDER MOUNT FOR BOATS Filed Feb. 2, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l [in]. E.

INVENTOR.

ARN Ol D C- TROESTER AT TORN EYS March 20, 1951 A. c. TROESTER 2,545,502

' STEERING PROPELLER AND RUDDER MOUNT FOR BOATS Filed Feb. 2, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 f] l AYRNOLD C. TROESTER 7 I 721 BY WM, Xlwyfaw ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 20, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE STEERING PROPELLER AND RUDDER MOUNT FOR BoA'rs Arnold G. Troes'ter, Midvale, Utah A Application February 2, 1948, Serial No. 5,775

4 Claims.

I r sen in ention re a es 129. 919! o m ts in rqp ll ne and t r neee ratus or b at It 99 1 15 f the terminations QP$t l tin and arr n ment 9i parts. h ein ter de q be and c aim d Ai b e m in en on is to r iie a pme lin and eerii e appa at s in boats w c mayb s u at a u t ris v riou ae u ar o i- 9 Q d te minin th cQ l 931. 6 ea The unit can be swung through a complete circle. Thus h beat tan be p e e le in a des direction without reversing the engine. p o M r errat ally des i e propose to Prdvide a ombined e penin and s e in apparatus, w th s m u ed 9 a tubu m s ro e e throu h the been at a beathi musing has a pa of udd r p a e swine b e th reun n urn these Pla es re ol a y up a ro ell a d as the ates a e swu into i u 39 P9 111935; 2 1791 5 i l Ting t ew tli- T dFl iQ 1 @9l i$ h llsr tends t qu h the tub ar h s n a rudder unit, and access thereto may be had readily by wreme ae. 9 3 Of 11? udder l n t b ec 9? m in enti n is s i e a de ic f he hai'as e desc bed which i atively im l n enstru o et dura an fi t 9 1?? PQFPQ B ntended- Qther O e and, a ant e W ll appea a he p fication continues, and the novel fea-: tures will be set forth in the claims hereunto appended,

For a better understanding of my invention, reference ul be h lite the accom a yin d w n m n pa t of his ap l ca n, in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view taken through my propelling and steering apparatus h h a s arrange t p ope a boat e Figur 2 i a ie i enta s cti nal view taken along, th li e I I. 9 Fi u e 1;

ig r 3 is a i e e e at n o my a paratu arranged to rop l the eat ast n: and

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of Figure 3.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, it should be understood that various changes, or modifications, rnay be made within the scope of the annexed claims without departing from the spirit thereof.

Referring to the drawings, it will be noted that I have shown a boat indicated generally at A and having a transmission box B mounted in the hull thereof. The boat includes a bottern l and a stern wall-'2. This transmission box is formed with a tubular housing -3 projecting downwardly through an opening fashioned in the bottom l A rudder unit C is rotatably supported on the portion of the tubular honsing disposed below a fOY Swinging ihr llsh a e mp ste circ e 2 around the tubular housing. The rudder unit revolvably carries a propeller D, which is 'swingable therewith.

Returning now to the transmission box B, Figures 1 and 3 illustrate this box as being provided with a base plate 5, which is anchored to the bottom I by bolts 6, or other suitable fastening means. A gasket 1 is interposed between the base plate and the bottom of the boat to preclude entry of water through the opening .4 into the interior of the hull.

The transmission B has a drive shaft 8 rotat-g ably supported therein by bearings 9 and so '(see Figure 1'); The outer end of this shaft is provided with a flange coupling H, which is operatively connected by a companion flange coupling I to a main drive shaft I4. The later is driven by an inboard engine (not shown) arranged in the hull. The inner end of the drive shaft 8 has a bevel gear I 5 keyed thereto, which meshes with and turns a bevel gear l6 keyed to a transmission sleeve ll. The latter extends axially through the tubular housing 3 and has a bevel gear l8 keyed tov the lower end thereof. Bearings l9 and 20 rotatably support the sleeve IT in the housing 3, as clearly shown in Figure 1. V

The exterior of the tubular housing 3 is fashioned with an annular flange 2| extending laterally therefrom. The rudder unit C, previously mentioned, includes a pair of rudder plates Cl and C2, which embrace the portion of the tubular housing 3 disposed below the bottom 1. These plates are positioned on opposing sides of the tubular housing and are made with recesses 22 for accommodating the latter. These recesses are enlarged, as at 22a, for the purpose of receiving the annular flange 2|.

' It wi l be apparent from Figure 1 that the plates CI and C2 are retained from moving longitudinally of the tubular housing 3 by the annular flange 2| entering the enlarged recesses 22a. However, the rudder unit C can be swung through a complete circle about the tubular housing. These rudder plates are drawn toward one another against an interposed gasket 23 by a seriesof countersunk screws 24 or the like.

The confronting faces of the plates Cl and C2 are formed with pockets 25, which coact with one another to provide a gear-receiving compartment 25a ,on the interior of the rudder unit G. A propeller shaft E is revolvably mounted in bearings :25 and 21, which are supported by the rudder p ates Cl and C2. A bevel gear 28 is keyed to the shait and meshes with and is driven by the gear {3. Accordingly, rotation of the translni'ssion sleeve l1 will revolve the propeller shaft The bevel gears 18 and 28 are accommodated 'ie he cqmvar m n 5a The propeller secured to the shaft E by a.

shear Pi .9 a u 0- Thelat a s th e d onto the propeller shaft, as at 3|, and retained in place by a cotter pin 32. In the event that the blades of the propeller should strike an obstruction, such as a submerged rock, the shear pin will give way to prevent material damage to the blades. However, the nut 30 will retain the propeller on its shaft.

The gasket 23 will preclude entry of water into the interior of the rudder unit C. As a further precaution, I have provided seals 33 and 34 around the tubular housing 3 and propeller shaft E, respectively.

In order to swing the rudder C and the propeller D into various angular positions about the tubular housing 3, I provide a steering shaft F. The latter extends downwardly through a bearing 35 provided in a cover 36 of the transmission box B. Figure 1 illustrates this steering shaft as extending axially through the transmission sleeve I! in slightly spaced relation therewith. This space permits a column of lubricant to be introduced between shaft F and sleeve IT.

The lower end of the steering shaft has an enlargement or lug 31 thereon, which is accommodated in registering pockets 38 formed. in the confronting faces of the plates Cl and C2 (see Figure 2). The purpose of the enlargement 31 is to swing the rudder unit C and the propeller D when the steering shaft F is turned. Any suitable means, such as a stick or wheel, may be employed for turning the steering shaft.

Having thus described the various structural features of my propelling and steering apparatus, the operation thereof is summarized briefly as follows:

Assuming that the main drive shaft 14 is being turned by the inboard engine (not shown) of the boat A, this rotary motion will be imparted to the drive shaft 8. The bevel gears 15 and IE will cause the transmission sleeve I! to rotate which will drive the propeller shaft E through bevel gears l8 and 28. Thus the propeller D will revolve as long as the shaft I4 is turning.

When the rudder unit C occupies the position shown in Figure 1, the boat A will move ahead. The steering shaft F may be turned to swing the rudder unit C and its propeller through a com plete circle. Therefore, the boat A may be moved in any desired direction. Figure 3 illustrates the rudder unit and propeller arranged for moving the boat astern. It is obvious, of course, that the boat could be moved to port or starboard by merely turning the steering shaft F until the leading edge 39 of the rudder unit points in the direction in which the operator desires to move the boat.

I claim:

1. In a propelling and steering apparatus for boats; a stationary tubular housing projecting through and below the bottom of a boat; the tubular housing having an annular flange extending laterally therefrom and positioned below the bottom of the boat; a pair of rudder plates removably secured together and embracing the portion of the tubular housing disposed below the boat from opposing sides of the housing to form a rudder unit; the plates having grooves snugly receiving the annular flange so that the latter will retain the rudder unit against longitudinal movement relative to the tubular housing; the rudder unit being swingable about the tubular hou ing; a propeller revolvably carried by the rudder unit and swingable therewith; means for swinging the rudder unit and propeller into various angular positions about the tubular housing for determining the course of the boat; and means for driving the propeller.

2. In a propelling and steering apparatus for boats; a stationary tubular housing projecting through and below the bottom of a boat; a pair of rudder plates removably secured together and embracing the portion of the tubular housing disposed below the boat from opposing sides of the housing to form a rudder unit; means for retaining the rudder unit against longitudinal movement relative to the tubular housing; the rudder unit being swingable about the outer surface of the tubular housing; the plates having confronting faces provided with registering pockets therein defining a gear-receiving compartment; a propeller shaft revolvably carried by the rudder plates and having a driven gear secured thereto disposed in said compartment; a driving gear meshing with the driven gear and also disposed in said compartment; a transmission sleeve journalled in the tubular housing and having the driving gear secured thereto; means for rotating the sleeve; and a steering shaft extending through the transmission sleeve and fixed to the plates so as to swing the rudder unit into various angular positions about the tubular housing for determining the oourse of the boat.

3. In a propelling and steering apparatus for boats; a tubular housing; a pair of rudder plates removably secured together and embracing the tubular housing from opposing sides of the latter and. being swingable about the outer surface of the tubular housing; a driven propeller carried by the rudder plates; a steering shaft extending through the tubular housing and fixed between the rudder plates for swinging the latter about the tubular housing when the steering shaft is turned.

4. In a propelling and steering apparatus for boats: a transmission box mounted in a boat and having a tubular housing projecting therefrom through and below the bottom of the boat; a pair of rudder plates removably secured together and rotatably embracing the portion of the tubular housing disposed below the boat from opposing sides of the housing to form a stabilized rudder unit; a propeller revolvably carried by the rudder unit and swingable therewith; a hollow drive shaft rotatably mounted in the housing and operatively connected to the propeller; a drive shaft connected to the hollow drive shaft through the transmission box; and a steering shaft extending through the hollow shaft and having a lug at its lower end; the plates having registering recesses for snugly receiving the lug, whereby a turning of the steering shaft will swing the rudder unit and propeller about the axis of the hollow drive shaft into the desired angular position.

ARNOLD C. TROESTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 833,218 Jennings Oct. 16, 1906 1,801,781 Parsons Apr. 21, 1931 2,064,195 Michelis Dec. 15, 1936 2,089,366 Hansen Aug. 10, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 411,212 Great Britain June 7, 1934 469,329 Great Britain July 23,. 1937 

